Thursday, March 22, 2012

Welcome to the new website for the Humanist Society of Gainesville! You will notice that the majority of this website is similar to our original website, with the exception of some added features. We hope that you find this website useful and enjoy the new capabilities, and we look forward to frequently updating you on important news and issues in humanism, both locally and nationally.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email us at gainesvillehumanists@gmail.com.

University of Florida graduate student Matt Mingus gave a somewhat
chilling lesson in American history when he spoke at the January 11
meeting of the Gainesville Humanist Society. The fight for
religion-free schools is not a relatively new phenomenon, but was
raging even in the mid-19th Century.

Matt pointed out that after the Civil War, more and more immigrants
streamed into our country and became good loyal citizens. Because they
brought a diversity of religious beliefs, school systems could no
longer accommodate the dominant Christian protestant religion in the
school curriculum and activities. Fundamentalist sects reacted
strongly. When the Cincinnati public schools decided in 1869 to ban
Bibles, prayer and hymns from its schools, fundamentalists took their
case all the way to the state supreme court. There the school board's
lawyer, JB Stallo, argued that government
could only support religion by guarding the "freedom" of its
development, and that anything more would be "tyranny and oppression."
Stallo argued that the US "at least ought
to be, not a Christian, but a free people." The school
district won the case and the secularization of schools continued,
ensuring that science and history be taught by empirical methods and
objective facts, and not through the distorted and limiting view of
religious dogma.

As today's fundamentalists wage their battle to "take back" the
schools, proponents of secular education continue to face the
challenge of fending off new and well-financed attacks. "The price of
freedom," Matt reminded to audience, "is eternal vigilance."

Matt's presentation, aptly called "Not a Christian, but a Free
People," grew out of his essay, "Rejecting 'His Story.'" The essay won
second place in a national contest sponsored by the Freedom from
Religion Foundation. In
the essay,
Matt discusses the current efforts of the religious right to rewrite
history in order to make the US a "Christian nation."

Matt is currently working on his PhD in European History, and teaches
undergrads at UF.

Dave Niose, president of the
Washington-based American Humanist Association, has brought an
interesting insight into Humanism that we all can draw upon in our
attempts to explain our life stance to others. We quote here part of
his blog of
February 26, 2011.

"The
post-theological individual is not deprived of the positive benefits
that were derived from theology. From a naturalistic, post-theological
standpoint, there is lots of room for awe, wonder, and profound
thinking. As Carl Sagan said, each of us is stardust, so humans
can be seen as a way that the universe
observes itself. Little wonder that most humanists see Sagan as having
more profundity and veracity than any biblical
prophet.

"And from this
naturalistic, humanistic standpoint, there is plenty of room for a life
of purpose and doing good. In fact, since
this one life is our only certainty, the need to live in such a way is
more compelling, certainly a better motivator than fear of eternal
punishment
from an angry mythological God.

"With the need for
theological explanations of the natural world eliminated, many good,
ethical people simply see theology itself as unnecessary. Defenders of
theology will play the
morality
card, suggesting that without supernatural beliefs we will become
immoral. But alas, observations of the
natural world have demonstrated that the inclination to live by rules
and standards is common in social animals, including humans. Our
capacity for morality is innate. Of course, our capacity for immoral
behavior is well documented as well (even in the most religious of
societies), so it's important that we create
a social structure that encourages ethical behavior and the positive
aspects of humanity.

"Because religious
institutions are so ingrained in our culture, they of course still offer
social benefits to many. A church, mosque, or synagogue can be a place
for community and charity, a place for ceremonies like weddings and
funerals. To many, religious institutions offer tradition, cultural
continuity, and perhaps a place to find peace of mind through ritual,
meditation,
and contemplation.

"But more than ever, many now achieve these ends without institutions or
beliefs grounded in supernatural theology, by instead utilizing humanist
organizations, secular institutions, or other means to fill such needs.
These people find peace,
mindfulness,
goodwill, community, ethics, perspective, and culture without the
assistance of theology or religious institutions. These people are post-theological, and
many of them are humanists."